


infatuation

by cresswell



Series: lost days [2]
Category: Maximum Ride - James Patterson
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Puppy Love, Sleepy Cuddles, Young Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-07
Updated: 2013-07-07
Packaged: 2017-12-17 23:07:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/873006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cresswell/pseuds/cresswell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He feels her mouth curve up into a smile, and then he feels something new. He doesn't know what a kiss feels like, but he thinks he feels Nudge give him one on the edge of his jaw, and then they're both slipping quietly into sleep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	infatuation

Max wakes them up somewhere around five in the morning and tells them they've got to hurry.   
  
"What is it? Erasers?" Iggy feels Angel stirring against his side. He's hazy, disoriented; he thinks he and Angel fell asleep on the floor during a movie. He opens his eyes and the dull darkness shifts around- Max is moving in front of him, picking Angel up in her arms, he guesses.   
  
"No, no, nothing bad. But I've got a surprise for all of you!"  
  
Iggy groans, flopping back down on his chest. "Nothing is worth getting up at this ungodly hour."  
  
Max says something, probably some snide comment, but Iggy is distracted by feet padding down the hall- light, walking on their toes, bouncing slightly-  
  
"Hi, Nudge," Iggy says, smiling at the shift in the dark. The younger girl drops to the floor and cuddles into his side, nuzzling her face into his neck and inhaling deeply. "Max is trying to make us fly all the way to Chicago and I don't wanna go."  
  
It takes Iggy a moment to process what she's saying, because he wouldn't ever tell anyone but he can't help but flush whenever Nudge touches him and having her in such close proximity makes him dizzy. "Wait, what?"  
  
He feels Nudge nod. "Yeah. She says the air currents are really good there this time of year."  
  
Iggy blinks. "Does Fang know?"  
  
"Yeah, she told him awhile ago." She presses her frown into his shoulder so he can feel it and says "wait, she didn't tell you?"   
  
Iggy turns his face away. "Um, no? I guess I'm not important when it comes to decision making anymore."  
  
He says it jokingly, but Nudge sighs nonetheless, her breath tickling his ear. "Oh, Iggy. You've always been important."  
  
Iggy feels himself blush but Gazzy calls Nudge's name and she skitters away from him before she can see.  
  
•  
  
The flight to Chicago is beautiful. Iggy doesn't have to see to be able to know that. The air is sudden and sharp and he can hear the flock's laughter as they flit around. A wingtip brushes his fingers- it's Fang, he can tell- and Angel and Nudge grab his hands to help guide him when the wind gets rough, even though they all know he doesn't need the help.  
  
"It's beautiful, Iggy," Gazzy calls from somewhere to his left, and Iggy turns his head. "I know. I can tell."  
  
The one on the right- Nudge- squeezes his hand, and suddenly they're angling down, Max leading them.   
  
"This might get a little tricky," Fang tells him, suddenly much closer than before.  
  
"Can't be worse than New York."  
  
Max, a fuzzy form in the flat black, tugs on his hair gently and he immediately flies upward. The toe of his sneaker hits the edge of a roof, and Max calls back "sorry, I should've warned you earlier."  
  
"I can do things by myself, remember?" He replies, a little annoyed, but no one see,s to listen. He settles down on top of the roof, soft curls settling near his arm letting him know Angel has stopped, too. He feels more footsteps- each of the flock landing- and he lies down on his back, closing his eyes and focusing on the feeling of sunlight on his face.  
  
"I haven't been here in years," Fang says, slightly out of breath. "Since before... everything."  
  
None of the flock say anything, but Iggy knows they're all listening. When Fang talks, they always listen.  
  
"My sister took me here once," Fang continues. He shifts in the darkness. "She decided to run away from home, but didn't want to leave me behind. So she took me with her, and we rode a train for two days to get here."  
  
They listen to Fang talk about his family until Iggy can feel the heat disappearing as the sun sets. Max leads them all to what Iggy guesses is the outskirts of Chicago, and they fly up to the top of a tree to sleep in.   
  
"Wasn't much of a surprise," Nudge whispers to Iggy later, mouth tucked against his collarbones. "We fly all the time, after all."  
  
"It's the thought that counts, I guess," Iggy mumbles back, eyelids closed over the darkness. He feels her mouth curve up into a smile, and then he feels something new. He doesn't know what a kiss feels like, but he thinks he feels Nudge give him one on the edge of his jaw, and then they're both slipping quietly into sleep.  
  
•  
  
Iggy wakes and he's upside down.  
  
Fang sometimes does this. Grabs Iggy around his ankles and holds him in the air like that until he wakes up. He started doing it when they first became a flock and sometimes he still did it when he had something important to talk about with Iggy.  
  
"What's up?" The younger boy mumbles, wings fanning out to bring himself upright. They sit down on the grass and Iggy frowns. "Where're the others?"  
  
"They're still asleep," Fang supplies, voice hushed.   
  
"Oh." Iggy softens his voice. "Sorry. What's going on?"  
  
"I saw you," Fang says, voice dropping even more. "Last night. With Nudge."  
  
Iggy starts pulling grass out with his fingers, feeling his face flush embarrassingly red. "I don't- nothing- what do you mean?"  
  
"You've just got to be careful, man," Fang says, and Iggy crosses his arms. "If you... If you, like, go for it, you have to think about what would happen if it didn't work out." Iggy can hear Fang tearing grass out now too. "We've all got to stick together. I don't want anything to change that."  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about, honestly," Iggy says, and it's such a lie because things have been different between him and Nudge lately and Iggy thinks he had been stupid to believe it would all go on unnoticed. "And anyway, you don't seem to have these concerns about you and Max."  
  
"Only because we've talked about if and agreed that something like that wouldn't be enough to break us all up." Fang touches Iggy's arm. "Look, I'm just telling you to be careful. Very,  _very_  careful."  
  
•  
  
When they get back home, the familiar messiness of the house is kind of comforting. Angel and Gazzy immediately collapse on the floor and start snoring, blocking the doorway to the kitchen. The others and up on the roof, their feet hanging over the edge- “Nudge, don’t let your sandals fall off”- and microwavable mac and cheese in a big pot between them.  
  
“I’m bored,” Nudge says, muffled by the pasta and cheese, and Iggy turns towards her. “Go get a board game, or something.”  
  
“No, I mean I’m bored all the time. We fly, we eat, we sleep, we occasionally run for our lives. I mean, when are we going to start  _the rest of our lives_?”  
  
There’s a beat of silence before Max asks, “Nudge, have you been watching soap operas again?”  
  
Nudge mutters something rather rude and jumps off the roof, landing lightly on the ground and stalking inside. “Nice,” Iggy says sarcastically, and can feel Max’s glare on him. “You didn’t have to belittle her. She’s not a child.”  
  
“Yes, she is,” Fang says, sounding tired. “You both are. We  _all_  are.”  
  
“We’ve lived through more than adults ever do, and I think that needs to be taken into account.” Iggy pushes off the shingles and glides down, landing on the porch.  
  
He finds Nudge in her and Angel’s room, rubbing a tissue under her nose. “Go away!”  
  
“You don’t mean that.” Iggy sits on the edge of the bed next to her, their knees touching. “Max and Fang, they don’t understand you. They don’t get the thirst for adventure. They think adventure means danger, and sometimes it does, I guess. But if it’s part of the adventure, then who cares if it’s dangerous?”  
  
Nudge is quiet before twisting around and lying on her stomach next to Iggy, her heartbeat traveling through the mattress. He stretches out on his side next to her, careful not to bump into her, and rubs her back like he’s seen Max do numerous times. “Everything feels better after a nap,” he says.  
  
She giggles, burying her face in the soft comforter, and moves to hide her face in Iggy’s neck, hugging him close. “You’re silly.”  
  
Iggy feels on fire, his hand still rubbing slow steady circles along her back. “I like to make you laugh.”  
  
He feels her smile against his jaw, her fingers drawing lazy patterns across his back and over his wings, and he hears her breathing slow as she drifts off to sleep.


End file.
